Aiden Michael Gardner

We are proud to announce the birth of Aiden Michael Gardner on Friday, March 14 at 1:18 p.m. CST. He measured in at 8 lbs 10 oz and 20 1/2 inches. He has a lot more hair than Calvin did and it has a reddish tint to it. Otherwise, we think he looks just like Calvin.

Everything went perfect and we left the hospital yesterday afternoon. I am feeling awesome and don't even feel like I had a baby on Friday. Here are some pictures of our newest addition.

My Boys, the Zoo & Tennessee Snow

A few weeks ago, the weather decided that it wanted to be 75 degrees, so we decided to take advantage of our zoo membership. We loaded up the boy and took the 5 minute drive to the zoo. Calvin's favorite part of the zoo is the monkey that swings back and forth on the trees & ropes. I get more enjoyment from watching Calvin than seeing the animals. We've gone twice already this year, and are usually there for over 2 hours. It's nice to get out of the house and get some fresh air.

So, less than two weeks after we have 75 degree weather, we get several inches of snow. Needless to say, Calvin appreciates the warm weather MUCH better than he appreciates the snow. Now, I'm not sure how that happened considering I'm from Michigan and Scott's from Canada. So, the whole morning, he kept going to the window, pointing and saying "snow, snow". We finally got outside (after putting on his snow suit... thanks Gma C & Papa H), and he absolutely FREAKED OUT! I think we forced him to stay outside for 5 minutes, and it was probably one of the most traumatic events in his life so far.

Calvin got sent home yesterday with nasty diapers and had to stay home again today. It's looking like he'll be staying home again tomorrow, so Scott & I have been taking turns staying home with the little monster. It's so hard to watch them suffer and not be able to do anything. I went to the doctor today, and have made a little progress, but nothing significant. So, it looks like Aiden Michael will be joining us on Friday... YEAH!!!!

We will make a post once Aiden joins us.

C'mon Down, Baby Aiden!

One of the nice things about having an OB nurse down the hall & having a maternity lab around the corner at work is that when you think you're having contractions, they can tell you whether or not you're crazy. So, what I thought are contractions, really are. This makes me feel a lot better because a) I don't think I'm going crazy & actually know what a contraction is and b) that means nature is taking it's course.

There was a class in the maternal lab, so they were able to see real readings, as opposed to ones from a dummy. Now, some may classify me as a dummy, but I'm talking about the doll dummy. Anyhoo... Aiden decided to move around while I was hooked up to the monitor, so the students were able to move it and find his heartbeat again. I had a few contractions, but nothing consistent. The OB nurse said that I wasn't in labor, but that I was on my way. She said that she wouldn't be surprised if I had Aiden this weekend. Now, obviously I'm holding my breath, as it could be any second or not until next Friday. But, I'm staying optimistic that I'll go on my own this time. C'MON BABY AIDEN... Mommy is more than ready for you!!!!

The countdown has begun...

Not that it hadn't already, but the official countdown to Aiden joining the family has begun. I went to the doctor today and found out that I am a "loose" 1 cm dilated and 70% efface. This is a decent jump from last Thursday's visit when I was 1 cm and 15%. We went ahead and scheduled for me to be induced next Friday, March 14, but she said that she thinks he'll be here before then. YIKES! I mean, I've know this day was coming, but it's still surreal.

So, full panic has kicked in, as I haven't packed my bag, Calvin's bag or gotten the car seat re-installed. Seriously, what the heck was I thinking by not having all this stuff done before today?

If Aiden joins us tomorrow, he'll share a birthday with Grandpa Paul (Scott's dad) and if he joins us on Thursday, he'll share a birthday with Momo (my mom).

Well, that's it for now. We'll definitely be posting more info. as things progress.

15 days (max.) and counting

Well, we've been given the thumbs up to be induced a week early, so that means that at my appointment next Tuesday we'll be setting my "appointment" to be induced. So, unless Aiden decides to join this world on his own, we've chosen March 14 as the magical day. One of my friends, Trish, works in the nursery at Williamson Medical Center, so I am very excited about that. We are excited to be able to have him at the same hospital as Calvin and are even more fortunate that she may be there. She was one of Dalton's nurses when he was at Vanderbilt Children's Hospital, which makes me feel even better that we will have someone with such a strong background.

We had our last look at Aiden this morning and although it was hard to see him because he's so big, it was still pretty cool. We were able to see him moving his mouth, so we may have another pacifier baby on our hands. Either his head stopped growing or his body has caught up... he was measuring right on track with both measurements, which makes me feel a lot better. He weighed about 7 lbs, 5 oz, which is still pretty big. She did say that there is a 17 oz. margin of error, so he could be as little as 6 something or as big as 8 something. Guess we'll find out in a few weeks.

I've tried to plan ahead and get things started for Calvin's 2nd birthday. Hank & Christine will be visiting in May, so we're hoping to have his party while they're. Poor kid... we always seem to have his birthday party a couple of weeks late. Calvin's birthday always falls right in the middle of finals... FUN TIMES! Calvin is getting so big and is loving the heck out of his daddy these days. He is also a big fan of Uncle Mike and even dissed daddy for Uncle Mike this weekend. As I'm sure people can imagine, daddy was a little hurt.

Well, we'll make sure to keep this updated in case Aiden decides to join us before March 14. Until then, hope all is well with everyone!

SSDD

I went to the doctor yesterday for another check-up and she asked how I was feeling and when I replied "scared" she was like "why?". I told her that I was a little nervous that I had a 33-week baby and that his head was measuring 38 weeks. I told her that I was also a little nervous of his weight (which she confirmed was 5 lbs 13 oz) and she said that it was only the 69th percentile... easy for her to say... she's just going to be standing there saying push (okay, probably TMI, but that's what I was thinking).

I actually really like her, and when I had Calvin, scheduled his inducement for the day she was on-call. We talked a bit about being induced this time, as one of the other doctors told me that they would induce me a week early (I think it's more of a selfish thing on their part). So, my goal is to be induced on Friday, March 14 (a week before my due date), unless Aiden decides to join us earlier (earlier)... wow, it's been a long time since I've heard that (inside joke). So, as long as the forces are on our side, Aiden will be here no later than March 14... HOLY COW... THAT'S 4 WEEKS FROM FRIDAY!!!!

Calvin has a Valentine's Day party at school on Thursday, so Scott and I are both going to go. I'm making some heart-shaped cookies with pink & red icing to take with us. I'm pretty excited about them because they are my favorite cookies from growing up. They may also be attributed to the 11 lbs in 3 weeks weight gain that occurred around Christmas... but, what are you going to do?!?!

That's about it from our neck of the woods. We're (okay, I am) very (inpatiently) waiting for the arrival of Aiden and to not be pregnant anymore. Don't get me wrong, I love the outcome, but am just plain ready! Hope all is well with everyone and we'll give more updates as they occur.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!!!

Life with two boys and a husband

Aiden at his January 10 ultrasound

Aiden at his February 4 ultrasound

I had another ultrasound yesterday, so was able to see Aiden again. It's so hard at this stage in the pregnancy because there is really not a lot of room for him to move. He still looks healthy, which is always a good sign. They took his measurements again and he is approximately 5 lbs 8 oz, which is over 2 lbs more than he weighed three weeks ago. The ultrasound tech said that his chest cavity (which is part of how they determine his weight) was measuring approximately 35 weeks and his head is measuring approximately 38 weeks. Keep in mind that I won't be 34 weeks until Friday, so not really sure what to think of this. I mean, we all know that the big head thing runs in both sides of the family, but measuring 4 weeks ahead... what the heck?!?! Now, maybe Calvin was the same, but I just didn't know because I only had my 20-week ultrasound. Either way... labor is looking like it's going to be a ton of fun! The ultrasound tech asked me how big Calvin was and I told her that he was 8 lbs. She proceeded to say "well, this one will be at least that big." Can I get an epidural RIGHT NOW?!?!

When I was at the doctor the other week, she told me that I had the option of being induced up to a week early since I had gone to term with Calvin and there were no complications. That's looking like a really good plan right now. I think I've been having some mild contractions beginning this week, so I'm guessing Aiden isn't going to wait until 40 weeks anyways.

Calvin has (we think) begun the "terrible twos". He's a huge fan of screaming at the top of his lungs, throwing himself on the ground and telling us "no". Can't say I'm a huge fan of this, but am hoping that he gets it out of his system before Aiden comes. It's hard when you're walking to the car holding your 30 lb child's hand and he decides he wants to go the other car, so he throws himself to the ground kicking and screaming. This is especially fun when it's either a) raining and the ground is wet or b) you've got your arms full of stuff to take to work. Aww, the joys of parenthood... guess this is why we're having baby #2 so soon!!

I haven't posted in a while and want everyone who reads this to keep one of my friends in their thoughts and prayers. She had a beautiful baby boy on January 25 and on January 29 began 6 rounds of chemotherapy for her fight against breast cancer. It amazes me how strong she is and how she is handling all of this. She delivered a baby via c-section on a Friday, had surgery the following Monday and chemo the next day. And, the her son was in NICU the entire time. She has remained so positive throughout the process and continues to remain positive despite the effects of the chemo.